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This is an oath that Travis Stevens reads to himself for motivation and focus. This was recorded in may 2016 a few months before he took the silver medal for the USA 81kg Judo in the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

This is an adaptation of an old saying “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”. In modern day thought, this means that it is better to have a sure thing than to risk the sure thing for more.

A choke in the hand is worth 2 in a Book

A choke that you know well and can perform at a higher level compared to your other techniques is worth two (well way more than two) in a book. In this day of BJJ and the internet, one of the biggest mistakes is for students to perpetually switch from learning different techniques and never mastering any of them. This style of learning is a mistake, and a common one.

Falconry

Now for the original meaning of the phrase. This phrase comes from medieval falconry. The bird in your hand is your trained falcon, this falcon hunts other birds for you. The skills and tools you posses are worth way more than the rewards of a days work. Your skills, on the mat, at work, with people… falconry 🙂 are important to your successes. Spend time collecting powerful skills, not an overflow of knowledge you can’t use.

What are your thoughts? Modern meaning or original? BJJ related or off the mat?

It was not designed to be a odd way to quickly scoot across the mat during Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class. It was designed to help you move your hips. Keep shrimping my friends, it is not a race.

The Shrimp Crawl

Many BJJ students race across the mat at full speed. Focus on curling your body and getting a lot of hip movement. “There are many different kinds of shrimp” Bubba from Forrest Gump once said. Try these different shrimps: using one leg, both legs and shrimping with the opposite leg. Feel the difference from shrimping with a flat foot and shrimping with your toes. Try moving your feet close to your butt and then try shrimping with your feet at a distance. All of these shrimps will produce a different result. From white belt to black belt, everyone uses the shrimp to escape side control and mount.

“You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.” Bruce Lee